There are several varieties of terns, and a very pretty and lively one is called the least tern. It did not get this name because there are so few of them, but because it is the smallest at only nine inches long. It is not a songbird like a robin or a meadowlark, but it does have a distinctive chirping call of its own.
How pretty they are with pure-white, smooth feathers over the entire lower parts of their bodies, throats and heads. This is beautifully contrasted with tan-black forked tail feathers trimmed in dark brown. Tops of their heads are coal black, and the long sharp beaks, legs and feet are orange.
Favorite nesting places are in California and Long Island, where they nest close together in great numbers along flat ocean beaches or at the sides of streams. Nests are scooped out of the sand, and soon sand-colored eggs produce sandy-gray chicks - all well camouflaged. Both parents share in the care of the chicks, which are able to walk almost immediately after hatching. In fall large groups migrate to Mexico, Central and South America and then return north to the same nesting spot in spring.
Feathers of these birds used to be in demand for decorating women’s clothing and hats. Hundreds of thousands of these lovely birds were killed for that purpose. But bird-lovers are happy that killing the least tern is no longer allowed, so their numbers are increasing. However, enemies, such as foxes and dogs, and some people too, still kill many of them.
To attract new ones to protected areas, wooden birds, made to look exactly like mature terns, are placed in exposed spots along with tapes automatically making tern-like calls. When passing birds see and hear these, many fly down and make their nests there.
When waters are smooth, a tern glides swiftly close to the surface with its lower beak open. When it spots a fish of the right size, it scoops it up and swallows it or takes it to the nest for its family. Other food includes insects, flies, beetles and sandhoppers, many of which are captured in midair. Incidentally, if the male tern doesn’t provide enough food for the baby chicks, the mother will sometimes find another companion to help.
Do you think the Creator cares about these little birds and their problems? He certainly does, as the above Bible verse assures us. As we learn of the wonders of God’s creation, may we realize that it is in the Bible, His Word, that we learn the truth of all the earth’s wonders. How it should cause us to agree with what the prophet Isaiah wrote: “O Lord, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name; for Thou hast done wonderful things.” Isaiah 25:11O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. (Isaiah 25:1).
“The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
ML-02/14/1993